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'RHOBH' Star Erika Jayne's Husband Says His Good Name Is Being Trashed in $15 Million Legal Battle

Home / The Law / 'RHOBH' Star Erika Jayne's Husband Says His Good Name Is Being Trashed in $15 Million Legal Battle

By TheBlast Staff on April 24, 2019 at 10:55 PM EDT

The husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" star Erika Jayne believes his good name is being tarnished, accusing the company that is suing him of trying to defame him in their legal battle.

According to court documents obtained by The Blast, 79-year-old Thomas Girardi is blasting the lender suing him over a $15 million loan, saying the lawsuit "is not driven by the desire to enforce the terms of the agreement but to exact retribution and to defame the reputation of Thomas V. Girardi."

The lender, Law Finance Group, is suing Girardi and accusing him of not making agreed-upon payments on the loan.

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In the newly filed docs, Girardi accuses the lender of placing a lien against the home he shares with Erika Jayne, despite it being a breach of their deal. Girardi says his law firm, which was provided the loan, has been around for over 40 years and is currently handling some of the most significant cases in the state. He says his firm is not going anywhere.

Girardi says he tried to work out the issues with Law Finance Group by offering $32 million in stock certificates to cover the debt and obtained other sources of funding. He accuses Law Finance of backing out of talks and, instead, filing a lawsuit that is "totally fraudulent, slanderous and an abuse of the legal process."

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As The Blast first reported, Girardi and his law firm, Girardi Keese, were sued by a company named Law Finance Group. The company claims they loaned Girardi a total of $15 million to fund the operations of his firm.

They alleged in the suit that they believed the money was used “to maintain Mr. Girardi’s lavish lifestyle.”

The lender claimed Girardi breached a repayment plan they agreed to in August 2018. The deal was for him to make monthly payments, along with a $1 million payment by the end of October, and $5 million by January 1.

The suit claims Girardi originally agreed to use the Pasadena home he lives in with Erika Jayne as collateral in case he defaulted, the same home featured on “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

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Law Finance Group said Girardi has only made “hollow promises” to repay and hasn’t paid a dime. They sued for the full $15,151,989 owed and other damages.

Girardi strongly disputed the allegations in the lawsuit and told The Blast, "The truth of the matter is this. I have not taken one penny from the law firm in the past three years. I have devoted everything to assist in the cases that we have here. Further, the money that was borrowed, we agreed to repay in approximately two weeks before the lawsuit. It is slanderous that the money was for my ‘lifestyle’ … every penny went for costs in cases that the firm is handling."

He recently scored a small victory in the case with the judge moving the battle to arbitration, outside of public view.

The case is ongoing.

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